Jim Pillsbury's Web Blog

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

A Day without Woman

If you don't want to spend the night on the couch.. wear something red today and Thank the women in your life for all they do for us. This is a good piece by the MWDN.

Making a statement

National movement a continuation of January’s MarchBy Christopher Gavin

Daily News Staff

Stephanie Deeley took a vacation day for Wednesday, but she’s not going anywhere special and has not made plans to do anything particularly relaxing.The Framingham resident instead intends to be one of many women in MetroWest and the Milford region who are expected to take off from work in honor of the national “A Day Without A Woman.” She admits that she has not been very politically active until just after the presidential election last year, but also said she now fears women and minorities will lose the rights they have gained as President Donald Trump settles into office. Spending a day away from her desk and dedicating her time to focus on women’s issues is one way she can illustrate and raise her concerns. “Women have fought so hard for so long for the rights that we have and I can’t sit idly by,” said Deeley, 61, who works in administration at the Worker’s Compensation Research Institute in Cambridge. Riding the heels of January’s massive global Women’s March, women and people who are gender nonconforming across the country are expected to stay home Wednesday, wear red and refrain from shopping - save for at small, womenowned and minority-owned businesses - according to the Women’s March on Washington website.The movement coincides with International Women’s Day, also on March 8, and organizers and participants say their actions are intended to show the socioeconomic value women hold while still facing challenges like receiving lower wages than men.Women are more likely to be discriminated against in the workplace or sexually harassed - some of numerous talking points participants say they intend to make known on their day off from their usual jobs.“What surprises me is so many other countries have had female presidents or prime ministers and here we are ‘the greatest country’ and we just can’t seem to push through women’s agenda, women heads of state,” said Lillian Breen of Ashland. “Even in the large corporations, the percentage of women is still relatively small.”Breen, although retired, said she still plans to spend Wednesday in conversation about those topics and others with the people she encounters throughout her day.Deeley, decked out in red, will scout out women-owned businesses to venture to around MetroWest before heading to a meeting of the Women’s March Framingham group scheduled at the Framingham Public Library Wednesday night.At Framingham State University, in honor of International Women’s Day, students and professors will march at noon from the McCarthy Campus Center to the Center of Inclusion Excellence where several speakers will address the crowd.However, as women around the country have noted, not all have the ability to miss a day from work or take a little off their paychecks.Mary Ellen Wyman, director and owner of The Kiddie Lodge, an early education center in Framingham, said 14 of her 15 member staff are women and while they’re supportive of the movement, they have a different role to serve.The business will stay open, she said.“We’re here to take care (of the kids) so (their mothers) can go out and have their voices heard,” Wyman said Tuesday.Under state law, public employees are technically not allowed to strike, though Gov. Charlie Baker’s office said in a statement Tuesday that his administration supports the right of executive branch employees to take part in the movement.“Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov. (Karyn) Polito deeply value the role women play in the administration and fully support the ability for all executive branch employees to exercise their rights to participate in all civic dialogue,” said Lizzy Guyton, Baker’s communications director.Massachusetts Teachers Association President Barbara Madeloni told the Daily News the group has encouraged its members that if they decide to show solidarity with the demonstration, they can wear red to school and control where they spend their money.Deeley, noting that other women her age have seemingly become more engaged in politics since the presidential election, said the movement is a way to spark discussions on issues of gender equality.She compared it to the anti-war demonstrations of the 1960s and the changes that grew from them.“I think there’s a lot of women in the MetroWest (area) and if we raise our voices, we’re going to be hard to ignore,” she said. —Christopher Gavin can be reached at 508 634-7582 or cgavin@wickedlocal. com. Follow him on Twitter @c_gavinMDN